How To Get More Followers On Social Media
Posted by: Hannah Gordon-Smith On Thursday, July 26th, 2012 - Marketing
| Social
| Social Media
Some of our clients come to us with the frustration and age old question, how do I get more followers, and below we have written some basic guidelines to give your inspiration for your own social media pages.
The first thing to always remember is to put yourself in your customer shoes. Why do you follow businesses? Why did you go and find them in the first place? Why do you remain a faithful follower?
Identify the reason to follow:
Here are some of the reasons and approaches which may help when deciding to what to post and how to engage with users and get them to share your content:
Freebies – Any kind of competition, discount, coupon or freebie can gain interest and exposure as users will share it with their friends and followers if it is of interest.
Amaze them – By using great design, new tools or videos you can generate the ‘Wow’ factor and intrigue users to follow as well as share.
Teach them – “How to’s”, tutorials, guides and documents can be really useful and something that people actively look for. By offering the right information in an interesting format this can generate good content to be shared by users.
Solve a problem – Giving advice, providing a tool or software to solve a given problem can be a way of engaging although this may not be as relevant for all online businesses to use.
Make me Laugh – Using Jokes, games, cartoons and videos can be a great way of getting people to share your content although can be a slightly riskier strategy dependent on the brand.
Make them look good to others – by offering content or something which makes the users look good and improve their social status can be engaging. Giving them something or some way to show off! Again this may not always be practical or relevant dependent on the brand.
Integrate your approach
Remember: search drives social, social drives search. Combine your approaches and sync up your strategies to get the best out of your business.
For more information on social media and the best way to manage and integrate your strategies, feel free to call the Digital Clarity team on 0845 388 4071 or visit our website.
My four week internship in Guildford UK
Posted by: Sabrina Laube On Thursday, July 26th, 2012 - Digital Clarity
Hello my name is Sabrina Laube I’m 21 years old and I live in Wurmlingen. Wurmlingen is a small town in the south of Germany. I was born on the 3rd July 1991 together with my twin sister Diana in Donaueschingen also in the south of Germany.
I grew up with my mother Monika, my grandmother Anna and my grandfather Saverio with Italian origin in Geisingen near Donaueschingen. I lived until I was 18 years old in Geisingen and then I moved with my mother Monika and my sister Diana to Tuttlingen.At 19 I started my Apprenticeship as a wholesale and export clerk at the company Ortho Select GmbH in Wurmlingen. Ortho Select GmbH is located in Wurmlingen, next to Tuttlingen one of the worlds largest centres for medical engineering and manufacturing. Ortho Select concentrate their knowledge at the development of implants for knee, hip, traumatology and arthroscopy.
l; Sabrina and r; Diana
My duties at Ortho Select GmbH are:
- Order processing
- Customer Service
- Create courier waybills & export declarations (Customs and courier documents)
- Check the goods receipt
- Check the stock and care for a smooth delivery of goods etc.
I’ve done my four-week internship in Guildford UK at the Guildford College (always on Monday) and at the company Digital Clarity (Tuesday till Friday). In the first 3 hours I had Advertising lessons with the teacher Hellen Collins and in the last four hours I had Marketing lessons with the teacher Michael Hassel. I’ve enjoyed the school and the teachers were very friendly and helpful. And when I wasn’t at School, I worked for the company Digital Clarity.
Digital Clarity is a multi-service digital marketing agency which create strategies and campaigns for clients and agencies across a wide range of verticals.
My duties at Digital Clarity are:
- Post comments in marketing blogs and leave the link of the homepage of Digital Clarity
- Help Hannah and Joanna with the weekly client reports
- Review websites of potential customers and send my report (what they do etc.) then Hannah and Joanna.
- To write this Blog
- And one of the projects that I had to do was to research the history of Google and when started PPC.
Here were my findings:
For Google:
- Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin
- Google began in March 1996 as a research project by Page and Brin
- The domain google.com was registered on September 15, 1997
- Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998 and it’s initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004
And for PPC:
- In February 1998 Jeffrey Brewer, a 25 – employee start up company, presented a pay per click search engine proof-of-concept.
- This presentation and the events that followed created the PPC advertising system.
- Google started search engine advertising in December 1999
- It was not until October 2000 that the Ad Words system was introduced, allowing advertisers to create text ads for placement on the Google search engine
- However, PPC was only introduced in 2002 until then, advertisements were charged at cost-per-thousand impressions
Why I wanted to make this trip to England is:
- To expand my knowledge of English
- To know more about of another culture
- The challenge to travel in a foreign country
- Tor my self-confidence
- To find new friends
- To gain experiences
What my expectations of this internship were:
- Nice and helpful workers
- An insight into the operations of a new company
- Not be over or under challenged
- To gain experience
The four-week internship in England was really cool and I enjoyed it. It was a new challenge and it tested me in certain ways such as in the language and my confidence strengthened. I’ve lived at this time with the host parents, Mary and Colin Grogan.They were always nice and very interested in my person as they wanted to know how I live in Germany if I have other siblings and where I work and above all, they were always willing to listen what I highly appreciated.
It was very interesting, to learn more about of a different culture and other kind of foods. Especially once to enter in another working life. The dress code of most companies, also at Digital Clarity was smart and casual, what I really liked and then there was always on Friday the dress-down Friday (where Jeans and trainers were allowed). I really liked working with Digital Clarity, everyone was very nice and always helpful. I’ve learned a lot at this time and gave also experiences and ideas of mine to Digital Clarity. I’m now a couple of experiences, friends and knowledge rich and the internship, I would definitely do it again and I recommend it to anyone else. I’m grown with the tasks of the challenge and responsibility and I feel now more mature and safer in what I do.
Regards Sabrina Laube
Olympic Torch Relay Guildford 2012
Posted by: Rachel Mepham On Monday, July 23rd, 2012 - Local
So as we near the start of the London Olympics 2012, Guildford was the last place to see the Olympic torch travel up the high street before it was dramatically flown via helicopter to London.
Friday 20th July saw the streets of Guildford lined with rows of people waving flags, blowing whistles and generally cheering in the sunshine. Earlier weather reports had suggested rain may fall however the sunshine stayed strong into the early evening. Companies, shops and restaurants were viewing out of High Street windows as well as families watching from their balconies above the shops. The buzz was great and very exciting, everyone felt proud to be part of a once in a lifetime event.
Stoke Park, Guildford, then hosted a party where the helicopter picked up the flame to transport it to London for the final leg in the run up to the Olympics.
With only 4 days till the opening event, we hope the weather will stay fine and sunny so we can show the rest of the world the UK hosting a great Olympics.
PPC – More clicks for your money in 5 steps!
Posted by: Hannah Gordon-Smith On Monday, July 23rd, 2012 - Advertising
| Marketing
| Pay Per Click
| PPC
Whether you are new to PPC or whether you have been running your account for years, one main objective is to make the process more cost effective. It’s all very well opening the flood gates to your account, but can you get your clicks for cheaper? And are they the right calibre of clicks?
At Digital Clarity, we’ve put together 5 quick and simple steps to get more clicks for your money, and ensure that those clicks are of higher quality. The more clicks you can get of higher quality, the more likely you are to improve conversions rates, in a more cost effective way.
1.Improve your quality score
One way to lower your average CPC is to improve your quality score. Google judges advertisers for being relevant and labels each keyword with a quality score. If your quality score is high, you won’t need to pay as much to be in higher positions, if your quality score is low, Google might not even show your advert! In other words, the higher the quality scores, the higher the reward.
First step is to look at your keywords, are they relevant? Are they grouped together in the most effective way? By having closely themed keywords grouped together, you are able to have ad copy that is highly relevant and includes the keyword theme.
Once you have reviewed your keywords, you should have a look at the relevancy between your keywords, your ads and your landing pages. For more in depth information, check out my recent blog on How to Improve Your Google Quality Score
2.CPC bidding strategy
A quick and easy way to get more clicks for your money is with CPC changes. you should treat your keywords in different ways depending on how well they perform.
- Keywords that perform well should be pushed: if they have a high conversion rate, increase the traffic and test out the results
- Keywords that waste clicks should be refined: on a limited budget, why waste money on things that are not working? Concentrate on things that are working and you can build from there.
- Keywords in position 1s can be reduced: if keywords are in position 1 they tend to have a higher quality score. This means that you can reduce the CPCs and still maintain a high position. This then frees up additional budget to feed into other keywords.
3.Location targeting
It is very important to remember your target market. Where are they based? Where are you trying to target? Where are you trying not to target?
Go back to basics and think about where you want your budget to be focused on.
For example, if you are a recruitment consultancy specialising in recruiting finance professionals, not only it is important to focus on ‘ financial’ keywords, but also the right location. If your business is only covers roles within London, you can save money on clicks by ensuring that you are only targeting candidates and clients in London.
There are four ways you can target locations
- Target an entire country
- Target areas within a country
- Target a radius around a location
- Exclude ads from a specific location
For more information on location targeting, visit the Google Support page
4.Which devices are working for you?
Desktops have traditionally been the most effective device for websites, however recent content by Search Engine Watch reports that “tablets has grown from 1 percent of total clicks to 8 percent”. First thing to do is check that your website is tablet and mobile friendly. If you have not made a mobile specific site, test it out – how does it look? Is it easy to navigate? Can you even read it?!
Have a look at your PPC data, are mobiles/tablets generating business? Are they generating clicks? Are they the right sort of clicks? Something to remember is ‘mobile search queries have grown 5 times in the last 2 years’ (themobileplaybook) - so make sure that you are getting the most of this device. Mobile CPCs are much more competitive and have a unique set up to generate the most effective results. For more information on mobile devices feel free to give the Digital Clarity team a call on 0845 388 4071.
5. Match Types
Match types are an easy way to control clicks, but remember, it not as simple as
- Restrict keywords that are not working
- Expand on keywords that are
When changing match types it is always important to think of the following
What negatives should be in the account? Think about what could you potentially be matching to? Is it relevant? Will it convert? As a very basic example, if your organisation only sells red shoes, you want to make sure that in your account, you have negative keywords such as ‘blue’ or ‘green’ and ‘brown’ etc.
How do my keywords influence each other? By looking at your multichannel funnel report, you’ll be able to see how influential certain keywords are. For example, if you’ll probably find that if you’re generic keywords influence niche keywords. For example, if you are a cookware company, end users may use ‘cookware’ as a search term and find your website. From here they take a fancy to ‘non-stick cookware’ and find your website again. It’s only when they refine their search to ‘non-stick saucepan’ that they convert.
For more information on match types and how they have recently changed, read my blog on MSN Upgrades and Google Review to Match Types
Mobile – 8 tips to get your site future ready
Posted by: Hannah Gordon-Smith On Friday, July 20th, 2012 - Design
| Mobile
| Tablet
As mobile devices are getting more and more prominent in our lives, it’s to no surprise that ‘mobile search queries have grown 5 times in the last 2 years’ (themobileplaybook) and as a result more and more companies are investing in mobile sites. So, if you are ready to invest or simply review your strategy, below are 8 important things to consider when developing your mobile site.
1. Does it work?
There are many different types and sizes of mobiles and devices. Make sure that your mobile site is designed for multiple devices to broaden accessibility for all customers.
2. Quick and easy
The site needs to be quick and easy to digest. Keep the content simple and easy to read and make sure the site loads up quickly! It’s important to remember that ’40% of people have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience‘ (Compuware). As a result, you need to make sure that your mobile site is as user friendly as possible.
3.Visibility
As a rule of thumb, if you can read content at an arm’s length, you have it at the right size. If you have to squint and use a magnifying glass, it’s probably too small.
4. Getting around
Make sure the site is easy to navigate. Remember you are dealing with a much smaller screen, so try and keep the scrolling options as a vertical only – no one wants to scroll side to side to read content.
5. Thumb friendly
Bear in mind that some people have small phones and big thumbs. Make buttons easy to press and activate, there is nothing more frustrating that pushing the wrong button.
6. Conversions
Remember your ultimate goal – how can someone convert on the site? How can someone download a form? Add to the shopping cart? Etc.
7. Keep it local
’85% of UK mobile users seek local information’ (thinkwithgoogle.com) so make sure you include functionality that helps people find you and get to you.
8. Desktop?
As mobile sites are much simpler than the desktop version, information and content it also simplified. Give your customer the choice to go back to the desktop version, as this may help them convert.
For more information on mobile sites, and how they could be a benefit to your business, give the Digital Clarity team a call on 0845 388 4071 or email info@digital-clarity.com
How to Increase your Google AdWords CTR
Posted by: Rachel Mepham On Thursday, July 19th, 2012 - Google
| Pay Per Click
| PPC
| Search Engines
With increasing competition on Google AdWords and CPC’s becoming more expensive it is important for advertisers to use strategies which ensure they are getting the most value for their budget.
One way of doing this is by ensuring the relevance of your keywords, ads and landing pages is as consistent as possible. The higher the relevance, the higher your quality scores, potentially the lower your CPC.
CTR can be one of the most influential metrics when looking to increase your quality score, so let’s explore the things that you can do as an advertiser in order to increase your Google AdWords CTR.
It is also important to know what level of CTR’s you should be aiming for. As we all know the more generic the keyword the lower potential CTR will be achieved. See ‘What is a good CTR on Google Adwords’ for further ideas on what you should expect.
Keywords
Although you may immediately look at the ads for inspiration to improve CTR, the keywords can be playing a part in low CTR’s. Make sure you have the right negative keywords and match type settings. This will help you to target the most relevant searches that people are typing in. The next step is to attract the right people with the most engaging message which is relevant to your business, products and services.
Ad Copy
The main focus for improving CTR’s will be ensuring the ad copy is encouraging the right people to click through. This can be a challenge especially on generic keywords as your business offering may overlap with other products and services.
For example:
Take the keyword ‘Property in London’ this could refer to properties for sale or properties to rent; it could also mean commercial or residential property.
If you are selling residential property in London and someone types in ‘Property in London’ they may actually be looking for commercial property to lease. This means you don’t want them to click through, however if they are looking to purchase residential you do want them to click through. This would mean that you don’t always want a high CTR, as part of the job of the ad copy is to prevent the wrong people clicking through.
In this case you want to make sure that you clearly label the ad copy to reflect the product and services.
With more specific keywords you can be bolder. You want everyone searching on those keywords to click through. Therefore you need to create strong ad copy to do so.
Specific Keyword – ‘2 bedroom flat for sale in Greenwich’
Ideal ad copy to include the keyword and enticing description –
Site Extensions allow you to add additional links to your website and highlight other products, services or offers you want to advertise. They can come in a variety of formats including; location, call, product, social, mobile app and sitelinks extensions. You can look to improve CTR by about an average of 15-30%+ with the addition of site links.
Keyword insertion can also be used to make sure that where possible the keyword appears within the ad copy. There are several options with keyword insertion and you need to make sure the default is still relevant to all your keywords. If your keyword is over 25 characters your default will be used. The benefit of keyword insertion is that it matches to the keyword someone has searched for, hence making it highly relevant to what they are looking for. Using keyword insertions within ad text tends to see a higher CTR than ads without it.
Ad Groups –
It sounds strange but the structure of your account can be responsible for low CTR’s. By grouping your keywords to the most relevant categories this will really help to achieve a good structure and help you to make the ads relevant to the keywords. It is also important to group any misspellings into their own group if you are using keyword insertion, you don’t want misspells of keywords used in your ads as your CTR will drop. Ideally the more specific you break your groups down the more relevant the ad copy will be to your keywords. Within the travel, property and recruitment markets there can be many adgroups due to the number of variations of keywords.
Example adgroups:
2 bed Greenwich flats
2 bed Greenwich apartment
3 bed Greenwich apartment
2 bed South East London apartment
Each ad group would have keywords within it relevant to the group, e.g.
‘2 bed Greenwich flats’ may contain:
2 bed Greenwich flat
2 bed Greenwich flats
2 bedroom Greenwich flat
2 bedroom Greenwich flats
Greenwich flat 2 bed
2 bed flat for sale Greenwich
Etc…
This insight gives just a snap shot of how to plan and think about improving your Google AdWords CTR’s. It does take time and effort to structure your account effectively from the start as well as testing and improving based on the results you see.
The main goal to remember, the higher your CTR the more likely Google will reward you with a high quality score meaning you can achieve higher positions for a lower CPC. Plus your audience should be able to find what they are looking for much more easily.
*Photograph: Boris Roessler/EPAGoogle Shopping – hints, tips and how it affects your PPC and SEO
Posted by: Hannah Gordon-Smith On Tuesday, July 10th, 2012 - Google
| News
| Pay Per Click
| PPC
| SEO
Google shopping (formally Google Product Search) is turning into a paid model, but what does this mean for PPC and SEO?
Whilst you can still appear on Google search for free (with organic listings) if you want your products to appear in a dedicated ‘Google Shopping’ area, you are going to have to pay for it.
It has caused such debate, as it is the first time Google has removed a free product, and changed it to a paid one. Could this mean that other free services will soon be paid for?
Google insist that the main reason for the change is to help improve the end user experience, giving companies the continued opportunity to advertise and display their products to the largest possible audience. Sameer Samat, vice president of product management for Google Shopping says;
“This is about delivering the best answers for people searching for products and helping connect merchants with the right customers”
What does it mean for PPC?
Google shopping is being tested in the US, but when it comes to the UK it could also have a dedicated area at the top right hand side of the page. Whilst this makes Google Shopping more prominent to the end user, it also means that PPC text ads will be pushed below the 1st page fold. Could it mean that it will be ever more important and more competitive to feature in the top 3 ads?
Another big change is that Product Listings Ads (PLAs) will start to be phased out once Google shopping is in full swing. So I would suggest that you start PLAs to start preparing for the Google shopping hand over.
Google shopping will work pretty much like product listings on AdWords although you won’t need to bid on particular keywords, but rather on a product type. You will also be able to show offers and promotions through Google shopping, feeding straight from your merchant centre.
What does it mean for SEO?
Good News?! Bad News?! Some are predicting that CTR on organic search will start to suffer. If there is a visual picture, with a price and a discount, end users are more likely to click on that product. However some are predicting that it could help organic CTR as it gives the chance for more natural listings to appear above the fold of the page.
What should you expect?
As the paid inclusion version of Google Shopping rolls out, merchants are understandably up in arms as this platform is a necessity for some businesses and Google are now enforcing those ‘free sales’ to become paid for sales. This may force merchants to increase product prices to compensate for increased costs.
On the flip side Google shopping has been pot luck to get your products to appear for many businesses. Trying to optimise product feeds and reviews of products just to get a look in and still seeing no results can be frustrating. For some advertisers the case that there will now be a model to allow advertisers products to appear at all is a positive.
Google says ranking in Google Shopping will be based on “a combination of relevance and bid price”, so you could therefore expect to see higher competition with your PPC ads. As less PPC ads are shown above the fold of the page, competition will be stiff, and more than likely, more expensive.
Next Steps
The new Google Shopping model is currently being tested in the US and it is more than likely going to make its way over to the UK, however if you are in the US, Google are offering credit to those companies interested – so make sure you sign up!
- If you create product listings ads by 15th August 2012, you can receive an automatic monthly credit of 10% of your product listings ad spend through the end of 2012
- For those people who already have product search, if you fill out this form by the 15th August, you receive an additional $100 credit to get started with product listings ads
- For more information check out the Google Shopping information page
For more information on any of the points raised or how an integrated approach can help your business grow, feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)845 388 4071 or email info@digital-clarity.com
